204 BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 



ORDER, PICARI^; 

 Family, CAPRIMULGID^ (Goat-suckers). 



THE NIGHTJAR, OR GOAT-SUCKER 



(Caprimulgus europseus). 

 Plate 63. 



The Order which we now come to is one which it is 

 impossible to define in any way. In fact, it cannot be 

 considered as more than a temporary 'pigeon-hole' for 

 a number of odd groups of rather doubtful affinities 

 which have not yet been allotted their proper places in 

 the scheme of classification ! There is, it is true, a 

 certain amount of structural similarity between the 

 various groups thus slumped together, but there is not 

 at present any unanimity of opinion on the subject. For 

 our purpose, at any rate, the group is certainly an ' Order 

 of odd families ; ' for if deep-seated relationships are 

 doubtful, superficial resemblances are wanting almost en- 

 tirely. An English name for the group is also lacking, 

 and we must use the scientific one ' Picariae,"' a name 

 which refers to the fact that the Woodpeckers form an 

 important subdivision — we can scarcely say that they 

 are typical of such a motley assemblage. The half- 

 dozen members of the Order which are common enough 

 British-breeding birds to be described here form a repre- 

 sentative selection, each one belonging to a different 

 family ! 



The first we have to deal with is the Nightjar, a bird 

 of semi-nocturnal habits. In the breeding season it is 

 distributed over the greater part of the British Isles ; but 



